Page 2 - Daisy POWERLINE 953 TargetPro Reviews

Great solid target rifle overall, I got this one specifically to shoot indoors with as much accuracy and realistic rifle feel as possible. It's not too loud and the power isn't too dangerous for indoors. Very accurate. Its nice to preload 5-10 magazines and just shoot without touching pellets for a while. Within 2 weeks I've put about 500 beeman coated wadcutters through it and its been solid. Does not have adequate power to hunt anything besides maybe a mouse or small bird.

The trigger is the limiting factor on how well you will shoot with this rifle. Its pretty stiff and gritty but there are fixes if you are willing to take it apart, I'm not. I'm just dealing with it right now and seeing how it breaks in naturally. There is some slight flex/wiggle when cocking the gun but overall feels very solid.

I was worried about the pellets falling out of the magazines (never happens) and the quality of the bolt action. The bolt action isn't amazing but its solid and works pretty well, occasionally it does not feed properly and I have to take the magazine out and re-align it but its not a big issue. I have lubed up the mags with silicone oil and they feed smoother. Pump mechanism is smooth and the rifle has a great feel and is lightweight enough to shoot for hours especially with the easy pump effort. I added an offset scope mount and a $40 leapers scope (the non-AO version thats fixed at 35yds). I like this setup but will be getting an AO scope for close up shooting because the parallax error causes the crosshair to become blurry, but still very usable. With the scope on and dialed in this rifle can be ridiculously accurate. Very fun gun to shoot, I never want to put it down.

Extremely accurate. Clips work flawlessly. Not a powerhouse but it is a great plinker. Very happy with the purchase.

We all want more power but with SSP guns this is about the max.

Lightly oil the clips. Keep track of your shots, believe it or not it's easy to forget to pump the gun and if you do you need to remove the clip so you don't have a jam. After you play with the gun for awhile you will understand what I'm talking about. If you do everything right the gun will perform flawlessly. Seat the pellets in the clip with a small screwdriver or a ballpoint pen and you will have no problems with pellets falling out. I recommend you buy several extra clips. I have many air guns but this one is rapidly becoming my favorite.

ACCURACY ACCURACY ACCURACY. ease of use. the fact that the mags can hold 5 pellets.

Maybe make the rifle more powerful, but for $100, with the quality of this rifle, its definitely worth the price!

At about 20-25 yards I was shooting at a piece of paper I had nailed to a tree. I had forgot to draw a target on it (yea I know I'm cheap). So without any sort of target I aimed at the nail that was holding it (which for reference, was a small picture hanging nail nothing too large). Unfortunately this cut my shooting that day short as I "nailed" the nail and the paper fell down, and the nail was nowhere to be found. And mind you, I have not adjusted the sights at all since I received the rifle!

The 953 is quiet, has no recoil, and is very, very accurate. I can shoot one inch groups at 40 feet with the fiber optic sights. I thought about adding a scope but am enjoying the challenge of open sights. The fiber optic sights look cool and are easy to get on target.

Add a little more power, barely dents a soup can at 40 feet.

Initially I was had some difficulty getting pellets to stay in the magazine and not fall out or jam when advancing. I switched to RWS pellets and made sure the skirt was flush with the magazine and it is working fine now. I am enjoying plinking and target shooting and going through pellets faster than ever before. I see no reason to spend 3X the money for the 853. I also own a Gamo Hornet and Crosman 2240 with shoulder stock. Both are scoped. I like shooting the 953 the best.

I purchased this rifle after reading many reviews on the accuracy and ease of use. This rifle is very straight forward and a dream to shoot. First impressions, there is no recoil at all, big change from a spring gun. I put a cheap Beeman 4x32 scope on it off another rifle. Shot 3" to the right, adjusted, shot again and was 1". Adjusted and BINGO! Dead on at 15 yrds. The clips work great, as others have said lube them a little before inserting. For the money, I don't think you will find a more accurate rifle.

I would like to see just a little more power (fps). First shot out of it I thought it didn't fire the pellet (very quiet, no recoil). The trigger isn't bad at all, very predictable.

This is a target rifle, with low velocity. This is not a hunting rifle. The length of pull is very short, it was built for juniors and a very accurate entry level air rifle. I had no problems with the clips after lubing them a little. Loading the pellets is easy if you take a minute to push the pellets in with a little pressure. I used a pencil to ensure they were seated. Buy more pellets, you will go through them fast with the repeater!

Vary nice trigger pull, smooth and clean. No noticeable recoil. Vary easy cocking weight and action.

Better out of the box sights.

This air gun is a blast for shooting with your kids or trick shooting with friends and family. I had no problems shooting through a CD hole and hitting a Q-tip stem ( only took 3 shoots free standing and never hit the CD @ ten meters.) My kids and I really enjoy shooting together (two girls and one boy) trying hard to think of ways to out shoot each other. Best air gun I ever bought for the money and fun we'er having with it.

I've been shooting the Daisy 953 for over a year and I'm still impressed by its accuracy. The 953 shoots any pellet of reasonable quality well. I had originally intended to use the front and rear aperture sights I had purchased for the rifle, but since my off-hand shooting with a scope needed vast improvement I decided to mount the scope that came with my Crosman 1000X. I had fitted the Crosman with a Williams aperture because the scope would not hold zero on that rifle, but mounted on the 953, a pneumatic, the scope works perfectly. The 953 is not sensitive to hold and if you follow through you will see the pellet go down range. I find no difference in accuracy firing the air gun as a single shot or a repeater.

The rifle is not without faults. It is a tad too light for good off-hand shooting, its length of pull, about 12.25”, is too short for an average size adult, the trigger pull is long and spongy, and it needs something better than fiber optic sights to take full advantage of its inherent accuracy.

Fortunately the 953's faults are easily corrected. The mounting holes for the butt plate are spaced the same as the holes used on recoil pads for shotguns and center rifles. Rather than buy a recoil pad I lengthened the stock using a scrap piece of black walnut, matching the stock's contours, to bring the length of pull to 13.25”. I improved the trigger using a modification documented on a number of web sites; bear in mind this will void the rifle's warranty. Be aware that you can set the trigger so light that it will release the sear when the bolt is closed. Be safe, a little bit of trigger slack won't hurt your shooting. Wanting a heavier rifle I purchased two additional barrel weights (the sleeve on which the front sight is mounted) from Daisy. I removed the tapered section from them and shortened the original for a total weighted section, eight inches long, that butts snugly against the fore-end of the stock. I sprayed the weights with flat black Krylon and mounted them with the dove-tails on the top of the barrel so I can switch from scope to apertures with minimal effort. I can find no difference in accuracy firing the air gun as a single shot or a repeater. The Daisy 953 is a fun gun and, with the barrel weights, scope and the walnut stock extension, it's very attractive air rifle. Don't discount it because it's inexpensive and slow. Its accuracy is not quite at a par with my vintage Walther LVG Special, but it's a close second.

I am so much more impressed with this rifle than I had expected to be. I bought it as an inexpensive alternative to the Avanti versions of this rifle. My first impression was of the heft of this gun. I have recently handled the impressive RWS Model 34 and this gun instantly reminded me of that air rifle. The single pump mechanism is smooth and requires not much effort. Trigger is smooth for a $100 gun. Accuracy is superb for this price level. I personally like the fiber optic sights, but they are far from perfect. however, they are fun to shoot and add some challenge. I highly recommend this gun for 25' - 10m target shooting.

I think that the only thing that could improve this rifle out of the box would be a better rear sight, it is hard to gauge the level of your shot. I like the sights for the money but I might add $50 -$60 or more worth of diopter sights to make this a very competitive entry-level target gun.

If you want a really fun and accurate rifle that feels like a powder-cartridge rifle, you'll be hard pressed to beat this. I think it is a toss up between this gun and the Baikal IZH 60/61 for most fun air rifle I have ever owned.

Superb accuracy, 5-shot clip, needed no cleaning out of the box. This is a very impressive air gun, especially for the money.

Smoother trigger. Given some time, it might get better. If not, it's not to hard to remove trigger group for honing. Would be nice if Daisy would do this at the factory.

I just received my 953 yesterday. I already had the scope with rings (Simmons Blazer 4X, Leupold Rifleman rimfire see-through rings). After initial laser bore sighting, took about 4 shots to sight in the scope. At 25 ft indoors, every shot is going through the same hole with Crosman Competition 7.4gr. Trigger pull gauge measures 4-1/2 lbs. Trigger is better than expected after all the bad reports, it drags a lot but breaks crisply.

Accuracy, ergonomics, crispy trigger, and price.

Nothing.

This is a fun rifle that doesn't feel like toy. I had it 10-for-10, and it chronied in the high 490's w/ beeman lasers. I've run over 1000 shots with a variety of pellets: H&N FTT 8.64, crosman premiers 7.4, crosman hollow point 7.9 and ultra magnum 10.5 and premier super match and super point. The rifle loved them all except for the super match pellets. If you want a rifle for the backyard that won't disturb the neighbors (too much) or blow holes through the fence, this is your rifle.

I've had this rifle for six weeks and put close to 1500 rounds through it. Everything is 5 stars about the rifle accept the cheap sights that are installed. I put a NcSTAR 4x30 Compact Rifle Scope on a Leapers Airgun/.22 1" Bi-directional Offset Optimum Profile Mount and I'm hitting everything I aim at. The five shot clip works great and the one pump lever is the icing on the cake. Short gun that would be good for kids or any backyard plinking.

The sights are worthless. Can't understand why they have such a good rifle with terrible sights. The only way to be accurate with this weapon is to put on new sites or mount a scope.

It's unbelievably accurate. The synthetic stock is solid and well formed. And it is quiet enough for indoor and backyard shooting. At this price, it is an incredible value.

I wish that there were inserts for the stock, to increase the length of pull.

It's very easy to shoot. You should clean the barrel for best accuracy. Cleaning pellets work great.

Very sturdy design. Its heavy enough to feel like a legitimate gun, definitely does not give the impression of a toy at all. The shot is smooth and quiet. For a backyard plinker or target shooting it seems like it would be perfect. Accurate as far as I can tell with my limited shooting experience.

A little longer, im a large man, 6'2, 300lbs, so it feels a little short. However, I plan on making a simple buttstock extension to clear that up

The gun is heavier than I expected. Not a bad thing at all, but could tire a younger one with standing use. Aside from that, quality gun.

The rifle handles very well. The cocking is pretty strong and might definitely be too strong for old or young shooters. It shoots very accurate and can definitely knock a squirrel out of a tree (or a bird feeder) at 50-100 ft! If you hit them in the right place, they won't get up.

I'd like to see the guns have several pellet clips, rather than just the one. It was hard to set it right at first until after many tries. It ought to have some sort of "click" or feel so you know when it's in proper position.

Love,love,love this gun . Being a carbine it handles very well . Very well made . The finish is outstanding . For the price its a must have . Very accurate out of the box . If your looking for a gun that won't break the bank , this is the gun .

It would be nice to get one or two more mags.

Not a thing . great gun . Get one and play with it you won't be sorry

Great target gun for the price.

nothing.

For the price I would not get the Avanti version.

super accurate, not loud, 5 shot clip works with beeman hollow point coated pellets, easy to mod and maintain.

it could be a pound lighter, trigger sucks but the mod corrects this, wish it had more power of course. stock is short but I made an extension insert to lengthen it.

LISTEN TO ME! if you get this get the beeman hollow point coated pellets "1230" sold here at pyramid. I wasted ALOT of pellets and time trying to figure this gun out and the beemans are a miracle as they not only group the best but the shape allows you to use the 5 shot clip almost jam free. most pellets will not work well with the clips. If you must use wadcutters the cheap daisy's actually work best as do the beeman coated wadcutters. of course you'll want to buy a pack of clips. this gun is the most accurate I've ever shot. I set paper up at 40 feet and can routinely hit the same hole if I concentrate.

Very Accurate, not fussy about the way you hold it. One hole groups at ten meters benched with just about any pellet I've tried so far.

The trigger, it's heavy and creepy. The sights. You need a scope or target sights to get the most out of this rifle. A non slip but pad would be nice too. I mounted a Daisy 5899 -- it works with the factory sight. I would like to find a globe sight that works with it.

This a rifle you can shoot all day. It's not powerful enough to hunt with but it kills cans and target reliably with one shot.

This is just a very good gun for fun shooting

change the sights to a scope

For the price it is hard to beat

Single stroke pneumatic, metal receiver, pump handle and heavy steel barrel. I would like a barrel like this on a Daisy 880! Extremely accurate with the Daisy 5899 peep sight.

The single shot adapter should be metal since the rubberized material doesn't allow pellets to slide smoothly into the chamber without the nose flipping upward. Change the rear sight to a Daisy 5899.

The original rear sight on this gun doesn't work well. It needs to be farther forward on the barrel and the fiber optic dots need to be closer together. I was unable to shoot accuratly with the original rear sight. I replaced the rear sight with a Daisy 5899 peep sight and with the original fiber optic front sight, I can now shoot one hole groups. The 5899 sight is the best upgrade for this rifle, it really brings out it's potential.